Relationship Play
Children's Play
Play is childrens' work, toys and their imagination are the tools of their trade. Through play your child investigates and tests their abilities, learns about the world and their place in it. Play brings the fun into learning.
Play helps your child work out how to be social and make friends, through play your child aged over three will practice the important skills of sharing and showing they care about others.
The summer holidays can be your biggest play challenge with new ideas needed every day to keep busy minds and bodies occupied.
Here are some ideas to help you fill the days with play and learning:
Try some games with rules. Playing board games such as snakes and ladders and draughts helps children learn about rules and taking turns. Team activities like cricket, football and rounders are a fun way to learn about co-operating and working together.
Arts and crafts give your children a wonderful way to express themselves and gain skills in eye hand co-ordination. Your child will enjoy showing their enthusiasm by making a mess when they’re painting, chalking or making a collage. Take the mess in your stride if you can, your children will thrive on the freedom to splash, squash and squirt as they handle the clay, play dough and finger paints you give them. Build self esteem by putting up all their work in the kitchen to create an art gallery to be proud of.
Raise awareness of the environment through games in the garden. Observation games give you the chance to point out the plants and creatures living alongside us, and their importance in keeping the planet healthy.
You could have your very own garden nature trail, go around with the children to spot as many different bugs and plants as you can. Make drawings and write down the names of everything you spot to make your own nature journal.
Try this easy treasure hunt: hide small toys such as plastic animals around the garden or yard for example under pots and behind plants. Set your children the challenge of collecting all the “treasures”, celebrate everyone’s effort with a treasure hunters picnic outdoors.
What skills will you need to be your child’s play leader ?
- You’ll need a sense of fun to get involved in all the dancing, dressing up and mess that come along with children’s play.
- You’ll need plenty of imagination to work out games and crafts to do together.
- You’ll need patience to withstand the cry’s of “I’m bored” even when there are activities on offer.
- You’ll need to cope with your own boredom as your child learns best through repeating the same activity over and over again until they’ve mastered it.
When you provide opportunities and materials for play, and join in yourself, you are helping your child’s development every day.
What else could you do? To find out about Sure Start Family Fun Days call 01782 232 977 or 344 910.
Download tips sheets
Sharing and playing together (PDF)
First
Steps is part of the Psychological Services for Children, Young People
and families within North Staffordshire Combined Healthcare